The Balloon Cycle
There floated over the hamlet of Ville neuvye-la-Garenne, the other afternoon, in mid-air, a balloon. Suddenly it appeared to burst and fell rapidly toward the earth. Fearing that a disaster had occurred the terrified folk ran to the spot at which they expected the aerostat would reach the ground, when to their amazement they saw a parachute detach itself from the car and descend gently. Immediately the earth was touched one of the passengers jumped upon a small bicycle which he had brought with him from the aerial regions, and he disappeared in the direction of Levallois, in the neighborhood of Paris, as rapidly as the machine could carry him. The explanation of this singular occurrence is simple. The balloon was the Caliban, and the ascent was made from Levallios by Captain Capazza and M. Hervien, the latter being the cyclist. Their object was to test the possibility of a balloon being used for carrying war dispatches, and they assumed that an enemy succeeded in destroying it. Yet they proved that by means of the parachute they would be able to make good their escape and to outdistance their pursuers with the aid of a portable bicycle.—London Telegraph
https://archive.org/details/BRM_1894101801/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Balloon
“Car” (as in “carriage”) refers here to the basket. It’s the same fundamental meaning as in “motor car” - a thing that carries people. You can see this use plenty in older books.